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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Shrink down, margins up at Dollar General a year after removing nearly all self-checkout
This story was originally published on Retail Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Retail Dive newsletter. A year after its move to take out most of its self-checkout, Dollar General reported that lower shrink and higher inventory markup were major factors in boosting Q1 gross margin by 78 basis points to 31%. Net income rose nearly 8% to $392 million. Net sales in the period rose 5.3% year over year to $10.4 billion. Despite a 0.3% traffic decline, comps rose 2.4%, thanks to a 2.7% bump in average transaction amount, the discounter said Tuesday. In Q1, Dollar General opened 156 stores, remodeled 668 as part of Project Elevate and 559 as part of Project Renovate. The company, which as of May 2 runs more than 20,000 locations, aims to overhaul 20% of its fleet each year, CEO Todd Vasos told analysts Tuesday. Plans for 2025 include opening about 575 stores in the U.S. and up to 15 in Mexico and remodeling about 4,250. Not long ago, shrink was an obsession of major retail industry groups and some major chains, though visibility into the issue has decreased since the National Retail Federation stopped publishing its shrink report. A year ago Vasos called shrink 'the most significant headwind in our business.' But on Tuesday, Dollar General Chief Financial Officer Kelly Dilts told analysts that improvement in shrink rates will be a tailwind throughout the year and that 'should be the gift that just keeps on giving here.' 'As we think about gross margin, we are just really pleased with where shrink came in,' she said. Major changes to Dollar General stores have entailed not just pulling self-checkout kiosks from stores but also improving layout, merchandising and staffing. 'Our store standards are much, much better than they've been in quite a long time, and every single quarter that goes by continues to get better and better,' Vasos said Tuesday. That is backed up by GlobalData channel checks, which found that fewer Dollar General locations suffer from inferior standards. 'While there are still some issues like cages and boxes cluttering up aisles, Dollar General seems to have minimized this issue with better scheduling and a modest investment in labor,' GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders said in emailed comments. Tariffs and the economy are likely to be the big challenges looming over Dollar General's performance, according to Saunders. Direct imports are 'a relatively small percentage' of Dollar General's business and tend to be in the mid- to high-single digit range of its overall purchases, with indirect imports varying, Vasos said. The company has diversified its supply chain — reducing its direct imports from China to less than 70% and indirect imports from China to less than 40% — and worked with vendors to share costs and found substitute merchandise where possible. However, raising some prices may be inevitable. 'While the tariff landscape remains dynamic and uncertain, we expect tariffs to result in some price increases as a last resort, though we intend to work to minimize them as much as possible,' Vasos said. 'In turn, we believe our customers will continue to seek opportunities to save money, and we remain committed to serving them with the everyday low prices they have come to know and appreciate from Dollar General.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kizik taps Nike vet as CEO
This story was originally published on Retail Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Retail Dive newsletter. Hands-free footwear brand Kizik has named Gareth Hosford its new chief executive officer, effective Monday. Hosford succeeds Monte Deere, who led the brand since 2019 and plans to spend more time with his family, the company said. Deere will remain on the board of parent company HandsFree Lab and advise on the business's licensing arm, according to an announcement. Hosford most recently was chief operating officer and CFO of performance apparel startup Omorpho, and before that, he held leadership positions with Converse and Nike. At Kizik, Hosford will be active in scaling innovation, expanding its global presence and growing its licensing business, per the release. Kizik has tapped a seasoned apparel and footwear executive to lead it into its next chapter of growth. At Nike, Hosford spent over 10 years in senior leadership positions, including as global strategic planning director and general manager of Nike football in the U.K. and Ireland. The CEO change follows other executive appointments at Kizik. Former Sperry executive Elizabeth Drori was named chief marketing officer last July, while Andreas Harlow, a 20-year Nike veteran who was global footwear creative director for the Jordan Brand, was brought on as Kizik's first senior vice president of design in November. As it looks to future growth, Kizik continues to seek ways to expand its product offerings and selling platforms. The brand has opened new stores in the U.S. and established partnerships to sell its products in the U.K., Japan, Canada, South Korea, France, Spain and more. The footwear company also launched its first pop-up location in New York City in 2024. Company executives feel that launching and licensing the brand's hands-free technologies may offer the biggest growth opportunity for the business. 'As we officially launch our HandsFree Labs technology brand, we expect it will become an ingredient across an even wider variety of the shoes you love from your favorite brands on the market,' Deere said in an email. 'We believe HandsFree has the potential to ultimately eclipse our Kizik footwear brand in enterprise value.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tariffs are likely to drive Prime Day purchases
This story was originally published on Retail Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Retail Dive newsletter. Over half of consumers shopping this year's Prime Day intend to stock up on everyday essentials, while 45% said they're looking to buy products they think will get more expensive later in the year due to tariffs, according to a new report from Tinuiti. About one-third of consumers said tariffs are also causing them to seek out deeper discounts before making a purchase, with the majority of survey respondents saying products need to be discounted at least 20% in order to be considered a good deal. Shoppers will turn to social media to learn about Prime Day deals, with 47% turning to Facebook, YouTube (41%), Instagram (39%) and TikTok (28%). Consumers are looking to save money on goods at a time when several retailers have announced tariff-induced price hikes. Shoppers are looking to make early purchases not knowing where tariffs are headed, according to the survey of over 1,000 Amazon Prime members conducted earlier this month. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they made purchases earlier in the year due to that uncertainty. 'The finding that stood out the most is how motivated shoppers are to find good deals right now and how that's likely to drive up demand during big sales events like Prime Day,' Andy Taylor, vice president of research at Tinuiti, said in a statement. The messaging from the Trump administration on tariffs has caused consumer confidence to swing up and down since January. A University of Michigan survey from April showed a precipitous drop in consumer expectations of 32%, the sharpest drop on record since the 1990 recession. Consumers will be looking for discounts at retailers beyond Amazon: More than 50% of the respondents said they would check out Walmart for deals during the sales event, followed by Target and Best Buy. Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Inicia sesión para acceder a tu portafolio Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
QVC Group details TikTok, social content plans
This story was originally published on Retail Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Retail Dive newsletter. QVC Group hosted its first Super Brand Day on TikTop Shop earlier this month, building on its efforts to expand its reach and investments in social shopping. For eight hours on May 14, QVC Group streamed live content from creators and celebrities on TikTok resulting in its highest viewed and engaged company-hosted livestream to date, a QVC Group spokesperson said. QVC Group plans to expand its TikTok reach internationally, CEO David Rawlinson said during a recent earnings call. Next February, the company will partner with TikTok U.K. Minutes watched on QVC Group's social and streaming platforms grew 26% compared to last year, while streaming monthly active users grew 131%. March was the company's largest non-holiday revenue month. QVC Group said success in its streaming and social businesses is crucial. The company now streams 24/7 on TikTok and cited its most important metric as revenue growth in a recent earnings call. QVC Group estimates the percentage of revenue generated during Q1 through streaming and social platforms was in the mid- to high-single digits. Rawlinson said what's key to the company's social strategy is that it consists of a pre-aggregated audience. 'There are already tens of millions, in some cases, hundreds of millions of people, if not billions, on those platforms,' Rawlinson said on the call. 'And so you get to play in a very growing, large stream of potential customers who are increasingly used to seeing shopping content in their social feeds and who are increasingly converting over to purchases within their social experience. And so that's the magnitude of the opportunity.' Despite QVC Group's financial struggles, the company is going all in on social shopping investments. Among its various social commerce investments, QVC Group's latest targets Gen X. The 'Age of Possibility' platform celebrates women over age 50 with an expanded TikTok partnership and an eight-hour livestream shopping event. Beyond social, QVC Group is tapping into other ways it can broaden customer reach. Through a partnership with American Airlines, travelers can stream QVC+ and HSN+ channels on the airline's free in-flight entertainment platform. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dick's plans to ‘execute the heck' out of Foot Locker acquisition
This story was originally published on Retail Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Retail Dive newsletter. Weeks after announcing its plans to acquire Foot Locker, Dick's Sporting Goods on Wednesday reported its fifth-straight quarter of 4%-plus comp growth. The retailer saw net sales increase 5.2% in the first quarter to nearly $3.2 billion. Net income fell 4% to $264 million. Despite the threat of tariffs and falling consumer sentiment, Dick's reaffirmed its guidance for the year, expecting comps growth of 1% to 3% and net sales up as much as 3.7%, to $13.9 billion. Dick's continued the revamp of its fleet in Q1, with two House of Sport locations and four Field House stores opening in the quarter. The retailer plans to convert five of its closing Public Lands stores into three House of Sport and two Field House locations this year. The outdoors banner lists just three stores on its site currently as Dick's has quietly stepped back from the business. Despite strong Q1 results, Dick's continued to play defense on Wednesday as analysts questioned its planned acquisition of Foot Locker. 'We understand that there's really a group of people out there — shareholders — that would really prefer we just continue to do what we're doing,' Executive Chairman Ed Stack said on an earnings call. 'We don't think that's right long-term for the business.' Stack noted that the acquisition will strengthen Dick's partnerships with brands, give the retailer a foothold in the $300 billion sportswear market and help it gain a customer it doesn't currently have. Dick's CEO Lauren Hobart noted on the call that Dick's has just 30% of its stores in malls and does not currently have access to many of the urban environments Foot Locker operates in. 'What the Street needs to understand is that, like it or not, we don't make investments or decisions for a quarter or two. We make these decisions and investments for a lifetime,' Stack said. Even with Dick's steadily gaining share over the years, Hobart said the retailer holds just 8% market share in the space, leaving plenty of room for both Dick's and Foot Locker to gain share. Dick's believes it can also improve Foot Locker's operational efficiency, build up that company's brand partnerships and better compete for market share long-term as a combined business. 'The truth is that Dick's would be just fine as a stand-alone business, but it sees the rise of players like JD and their expansion into the US market, and it knows it must make bolder moves if it wants to remain on top,' GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders said in emailed comments. 'Even so, Dick's is now entering a new era where it switches from the familiarity of driving organic growth to the unfamiliar ground of mergers and acquisitions.' Stack will lead a small team of Dick's employees focused on helping Foot Locker advance its Lace Up plan and integrate that business. Hobart praised Foot Locker's strategy as having many solid priorities, including revamping stores and focusing on digital, and expressed confidence in Dick's ability to bring Foot Locker to a stronger position in the market. 'We are confident that we'll be able to execute the heck out of this,' Hobart said. Sign in to access your portfolio
